Crokicurl: Canada’s New Winter Sport Blending Curling and Crokinole
A low, satisfying rumble begins as my rock leaves my hand and glides across the pebbled ice toward the centre of the circular rink. Sunlight catches the painted rings as my red rock crosses rings of blue, then white, then slides straight towards the red centre. I have first rock, so I’m aiming for the button, a small, shallow indentation at the very middle that can barely fit one stone.
The soft thud as my rock drops perfectly into the centre is followed almost immediately by a different noise. I’m not sure which comes first, my opponent’s groan of disbelief or my own surprised whoop as I realize I’ve just landed a 20-point shot.
This is crokicurl, a mashup of two sports for the most Canadian winter fun I’ve had in a long time. It’s a game that pulls people outdoors in the depths of winter and onto a circular rink, like it has done for me in the Ontario Highlands at Springwood Cottage Resort in Central Frontenac.
Sadly, this is a practice round, and I only wish it was the start of an actual game. As we continue to warm up, the rink fills with the ‘thwack’ of contact as stones collide. My second rock clips my opponent’s blue one, knocking it from the red centre toward a lower-scoring ring. I’m hoping it keeps going and slides cleanly into the snowbank, out of play entirely so it can’t score points, but it comes to rest on the edge of the outer blue circle, now only worth five points, compared to where it started in the red circle for 15 points.
Crokicurl is exactly what it sounds like, a hybrid of crokinole and curling. Instead of flicking wooden discs across an octagonal board, players slide lightweight stones across ice toward a circular target. Pegs, known as bumper poles, guard the centre, blocking easy access and forcing strategic shots. Like crokinole, the goal is to score high while knocking your opponent out of position. Like curling, every shot matters, and momentum can shift quickly.
Playing crokicurl has been on my travel experience bucket list for ages, and I’m thrilled to be ticking it off the list. Crokicurl feels instantly familiar if you’ve ever played crokinole or curling, yet completely new at the same time.
Our outdoor play is broken up by a freak blizzard, which brings me to their 1,000+ games games room to play a round of crokinole for a full-circle moment. When the storm clears, I opt for their snowshoe trail before sunset and the outdoor curling sheet. Then, after s’mores and a hot tub, craft beers from nearby Kick & Push Brewing Company and personal pizzas baked in the resort’s wood-fired oven, we hit the crokicurl rink again.
If the game feels intuitively Canadian, that’s because it is. Crokinole originated in southwestern Ontario, with the oldest known board built in 1875 by Eckhardt Wettlaufer of Sebastopol, Ontario, as a gift for his son. It is played on a round board with a recessed centre, where players alternate flicking wooden discs towards the centre, demanding precision, patience and a steady hand. Its name is thought to come from the French word croquignole, meaning a flick of the finger.
It seems fitting that I’m playing crokicurl at Springwood Cottage Resort, which is less than 400 kilometres from the birthplace of crokinole itself.
Crokicurl, by comparison, is relatively new. It was invented in 2016 by Liz Wreford and Leanne Muir of Public City Architecture in Winnipeg. Their goal was simple, to create an accessible winter activity that would encourage people to spend time outdoors during the coldest months. After debuting at The Forks in Winnipeg, crokicurl spread quickly to winter festivals, parks and community rinks across Canada, from coast to coast.
“Is that a Bundt pan?” I heard myself ask. The resort’s stones are made by Grandpa’s Woodshop in Bancroft, Ontario, about 140 kilometres away. And they definitely look like spray-painted Bundt pans mounted on rubber topped with plexiglass, finished with colour-coded plumbing-style handles. It’s like Grandpa’s woodshop met Grandma’s kitchen and had a steampunk-sporty-crokicurl baby. They’re lighter than traditional granite curling stones, making them easier to handle for players of all ages and abilities.
Springwood’s owners, Christine and Ed Chaplin, offer an accessibility pole for anyone who prefers not to crouch or cannot get low to the ice, making the game inclusive without sacrificing competition.
My first full match takes place as the temperature drops, and the ice speeds up, demanding more finesse and far less force. Each team gets four stones, delivered from alternating quarters toward the button.
One of my early shots sails clean through the centre and disappears into the snowbank beyond the rink. String lights cast a warm glow over the ice, and we play longer in the cold than expected.
Crokicurl is fun, welcoming and unpretentious. In a country defined by long winters, it offers a reason to embrace the season rather than endure it. What could be more Canadian than turning a beloved board game into an excuse to head outdoors in January?
Want to try crokicurl yourself? Rinks are set up seasonally at the following locations:
- Banff, AB
- Calgary, AB (several rinks, see here)
- Winter in the Village, Mennonite Heritage Village, Steinbach, MB
- BON SOO Winter Carnival, Sault Ste. Marie, ON
- Springwood Cottage Resort, Arden, ON
- Cornwall Snowfest Crokicurl, PEI
- Swift Current, Regina, and Saskatoon, SK
